Changing Lives
by aeryun15
Summary: Zuko has joined the group and he notices Katara is quite stressed. Rated T for now.


**AN: I do not own Avater: The Last Airbender. I wish I did. Sorry the first chapter is so long. xD Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 1: Forgiveness, Trust, and Discoveries

The full moon floated lazily across the night sky. The moon's reflected image drifted across the surface of a glistening pond. A pair of eyes, as blue as the sea and as big as the moon, followed the moon as it slowly moved.

Katara sat on the edge of the pond with the water lapping over her toes. Tears slid down her face and mixed with the pond water. She had been watching the moon all night, and judging by its position now, it was about four in the morning.

_Why does giving forgiveness have to be so hard, Yue?_ Her silent question filled her mind. Katara knew she wouldn't receive an answer, but she waited anyway. Sighing softly, she buried her face in her hands.

Back at the Air Temple, Zuko woke with a start. He could have sworn the air in his room got colder. He conjured a flame in the palm of his hand. There was no one else in the room.

_Strange._ He thought he heard the sound of someone breathing. Already wide awake and not able to fall back asleep, Zuko got up and went to the main courtyard of the ancient Air Temple.

The small fountain broke the silence of the still night. It glowed faintly in the light of the full moon. Zuko sat down on its edge. He stared down at his reflection in the water. His eyes were trained on the dark scar that marked his face.

_Marked for life._ The thought had run through his head for as long as he could remember.

The Air Temple courtyard was in Katara's sight. She could see the fountain glistening in the moon's light. She also noticed the person sitting on its edge.

She stuck to the shadows and slowly made her way to the courtyard. Pausing to take a deep breath, Katara sprinted across the open space of the courtyard.

A flash of movement caught Zuko's attention. He looked up to see a figure disappear into the shadows. The one thing that caught his attention most was the long braid that disappeared with its owner.

_Katara._ There was only one person he knew of with a long braid. _What is she doing out this late? Where has she been?_

Zuko quickly quieted his mind. It wasn't his business to know why Katara wasn't in her bed.

Hidden by the shadows of the Temple, Katara stopped and turned around to look at the person sitting by the fountain.

_Zuko._ She recognized him instantly. His shaggy, black hair and scarred face gave away his identity.

Seeing him sitting there alone in the darkness caused a pang of sympathy to stir in Katara's heart. She quickly remembered that she didn't trust Zuko and slipped away to her room.

Weeks had passed since the night that Zuko saw Katara returning from her mysterious trip. The moment would not leave his mind. Different scenarios of what she did while the rest of the world didn't know where she was played through his head.

He started to watch her closely. He looked for anything that would give away why she went on that midnight trip.

He noticed things that he hadn't before. The way Katara's eyes lit up when she was happy. The small dimples that appeared in her cheeks when she smiled. The slight sway of her hips as she walked. Her sweet laugh at Aang's antics, Toph's stubbornness, and Sokka's general goofiness.

_Spirits, she's beautiful._ The thought appeared out of nowhere one day. Zuko mentally slapped himself. He wasn't supposed to be thinking like that, no matter how true it was.

Katara constantly felt like she was being watched, but every time she turned around, no one was there.

_You're going crazy, Katara._ She told herself the same thing every time she discovered no one to be watching her.

Once she caught Zuko looking at her with a distant look on his face. She didn't question it. The firebender often seemed to be in a world of his own. Katara just ignored him and continued with her chores.

Zuko heard singing. It was a quiet singing. The melody of the song fit perfectly with the voice. Wanting desperately to find the "songbird" that produced such a beautiful sound, Zuko started searching the Air Temple.

He passed her room and stopped. The door was half open and the singing was coming from inside. He took a few steps back and peered into the room.

Katara was sitting in front of a mirror combing her hair. She was singing the most beautiful song Zuko had ever heard. He stood there listening until she finished the song and then he slipped away before she noticed him.

Katara knew he heard her singing. She knew he stood there watching her, but she continued on like she didn't. In fact, she wanted him to watch her. She didn't know why, but she did.

Almost a month had passed since the night she saw him sitting at the fountain. Zuko hadn't spoken a word to her. He hardly talked to anyone anymore. Usually he and Sokka exchanged words every now and then, but even that had stopped.

The day after he heard her singing, Sokka, Aang, Toph, and everyone else at camp went out for some hunting and some free time. Katara stayed behind to clean up around the Temple, and Zuko stayed to do some meditation while the noisy younger teens were gone.

Through half-closed eyes, Zuko watched her walk back and forth across the courtyard, each time carrying something different in her arms. He watched her wash dishes, hang laundry, mend clothes, and sweep the stone floor of the courtyard.

Katara's back was facing him as she swept. Before he knew what he was doing, Zuko was on his feet, walking toward her.

She spun around at the sound of his footsteps. "Hello, Zuko."

"Do you need help with anything?" Zuko mentally kicked himself.

"Yes, actually," she smiled at his offer. "There are a few pots that need scrubbing."

Moments later, elbow-deep in soapy water, Zuko understood how hard Katara worked to keep their camp running smoothly. As he scrubbed, his mind worked out a plan. For what? He didn't know. He just knew that he had a plan and he was going to put it into action quite soon.

Katara smiled to herself as she watched Zuko struggle to clean a pot that was half his size. Finally, after about five minutes, he finished. She watched him dry his strong, broad hands on a towel.

"Katara?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I think you deserve some relaxation. You work too hard," he said seriously.

"Not when I have so many other things that I have to do!" she thought he was kidding.

"My point exactly. And I know just the place to go for some relaxation," he smiled slyly.

"Where would that be exactly?"

"You have to go there to find out. Come on," he walked off and stopped at the top of the staircase leading to the rest of the world. He stood there waiting.

"Oh, fine!" Katara said as she stood up from where she had been sitting, mending a hole in a shoe. She put the shoe, needle, and thread down. She walked over to the staircase.

"Lead the way," she said, gesturing down the stairs. He smiled, and her heart nearly stopped. She hadn't ever seen Zuko truly smile before. He started down the stairs.

He looked back over his shoulder every now and then to make sure she was still following him. He paused at the top of a hill. Below him was a beautiful pond that reflected the sun's light perfectly. He turned around.

"Close your eyes."

She looked surprised. "Why should I?"

"Because I want it to be a surprise."

She glared at him a moment, but then closed her eyes. She held out her hand for him to lead her. Zuko gently took her small, tan hand in his large, pale one. He pulled her gently forward and down the hill. When they were on the shore of the pond, he turned back to her.

"You can open your eyes now."

She slowly opened her big, blue eyes.

She opened her eyes to find herself on the shore of the same pond that she had cried into a month ago. It seemed so different in the daylight, but she knew it was the same pond. Katara could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

She turned away from the blinding reflection of the sun and Zuko's smiling face. She sat down on a boulder that was half-way in the water. With one quick motion she created a wall of ice around herself and let the tears fall.

_Did I do something wrong?_ He stared at the wall of ice like it was a poisonous snake. He could hear quiet sobbing coming from behind it.

Zuko walked toward the wall and paused for a moment. He placed his hands on the wall and melted the ice. Katara was sitting on the boulder with her arms wrapped around her knees and tears streaming down her face.

He looked at her for a moment and then sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked tentatively.

She looked up at him with teary eyes. _Did he just sound like he actually cared?_ Katara looked into his golden eyes and saw that he was serious. She brushed the tears from her eyes and sighed quietly.

"Nothing," she said. He looked at her like she had turned into a platypus bear.

"That's not true. Something about this place upset you, and I want to know what it is."

She shut her eyes, not wanting to see his face. Katara sighed again. "I have been here before. The only thing I remember is a lot of sadness. I sat on this very boulder and cried until I couldn't breathe."

"So this is where you went that night," Zuko voiced the thought that had been in his mind since she made the wall of ice.

Her eyes opened in shock. "How did you know I left?" she said accusingly.

He lowered his gaze from her face. "I saw you when you were coming back." He glanced back down at her face to see it clouded with some unknown emotion. Zuko stood up and walked around the pond to the opposite side.

She followed him with her eyes as he walked around the pond. Her gut was twisted in a ball of emotion. She wanted to call out to him, but she had a lump in her throat.

Katara watched as he sat down inches from the water and dipped his fingers into the still surface.

He saw her sitting there watching him. "Why were you crying that night?" he said, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Because I was struggling with a problem that I am still yet to face." Her reply was not what he was expecting.

"What problem would that be?"

"Trusting you."

The words cut through him like knives. Zuko removed his fingers from the water. _So she still hates me._ He turned so he would not have to see her reaction to his next words.

"You still hate me. Don't you?"

She stared at his back. _How could he think I still hate him?_ She created a block of ice, just big enough for her to stand on. Katara floated herself across the pond.

She stood next to him for a moment before she placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned at her touch and she noticed tears in his eyes.

"That was the first thing that changed. I haven't hated you since I saw how much you cared about training Aang. I haven't hated you since you took Sokka to that prison and saved our father and Suki. I haven't hated you since Toph gave you the nickname Sparky. Don't say that I hate you, because I don't. I've just had trouble opening up and trusting you. I still can't shake the fact that you turned on us, turned on me, at Ba Sing Se."

Those were the most words she had ever said to him. She had opened up to him. Her big, blue eyes were clouded with confusion and hurt. _I really hurt her in Ba Sing Se._

"I would trade anything to go back and change that day. I greatly regret the decision I made. I was so ready to go home after three years, but when I got home, I felt nothing but guilt. Azula gave me the credit for killing Aang, and it didn't sit right with me. I had a feeling that he was still alive. That's why I decided to find you guys and join you. I knew I had to make things right."

Zuko turned so he was facing her head on. She seemed surprised that he was telling this to her. She sat down in front of him. He could see that she was thinking about what he had said. He moved his fingers back to the water of the pond. Her eyes followed his fingers.

_I could trust him if I wanted to, but I just can't._ Katara watched as his fingers created ripples on the surface of the water. She closed her eyes and sighed. _Why does this have to be so hard?_ The silent battle in her heart continued.

Zuko heard her sigh. He looked back up at her face. He mentally traced the shape of it. The gentle slant of her nose. The curve of her lips. A not unfamiliar thought ran through his mind. _She's beautiful._

He stood up. She opened her eyes. He walked back to the boulder. She stood up to follow him.

_Where is he going?_ Katara followed the firebender back around the pond and up the hill. At the top of the hill, instead of following the path back to the Air Temple, he walked in the opposite direction. She continued to follow him. He led her past cliffs that dropped dangerously straight down. One misplaced step, and she would fall to her death.

As they walked, the sky grew darker and clouds formed, blocking out the sun.

Ahead of her, he walked on in confidence. He knew exactly where he was going.

The waterbender stumbled along behind him. Zuko continued to lead her on in silence. He came to the edge of patch of trees. He knew that behind the trees was the entrance to a cave. Without pausing, he walked right into the dense trees.

"Wait!" she cried out. He could hear her footsteps as she ran to the trees. She stopped at the edge and peered into the darkness the trees created. "Zuko! I can't see in there!"

He smiled to himself. He walked back to where she could see him. He held out his hand.

"Do you trust me?"

Katara took a deep breath, looked deep inside of herself, and answered slowly.

"Yes."

A smile spread across his face. "Then take my hand."

Shyly, she stepped forward and placed her hand in the firebender's. His hand was warm and comfortable, and her hand fit perfectly into his. She let him lead her through the complete darkness. She couldn't even see him, and he was inches away from her. _How can he see?_

He knew the path through the trees by heart. This was where he had camped before he had been accepted into the Avatar's group.

The feel of her soft, cool hand in his own made his heart beat a little faster.

Zuko felt the ground beneath his feet change from dirt to stone. He stopped. She bumped into him, unable to see and not knowing that he had stopped.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"You'll see." He conjured a small flame in the hand that she wasn't clinging to. He slowly made it bigger. The light spread across the floor and when it hit the walls, she gasped. Covering the walls were carvings and paintings of airbenders and their flying bison. She released his hand and walked to the cave wall.

The cave was beautiful. _How did he know this was here?_ Katara ran her fingers along a carving of a sky bison. He walked up to her, illuminating the whole wall. She turned to look at him curiously.

"How did you know this was here? Does Aang know this is here?" she asked him.

"No, Aang doesn't know this is here. And this used to be my camp before I joined the rest of you."

She stepped back and looked at the wall. She turned to look at him, but something caught her eye. Katara stepped past him and approached the warped piece of metal lying at the back of the cave. The symbol of the fire nation was barely visible on the twisted metal. She turned back to him.

"What's this?"

"It _was_ my war balloon. I had a crash landing in the trees. I ended up with a few cuts and bruises, but I was fine otherwise. The balloon, on the other hand, was beyond repair."

"You're lucky you weren't more seriously injured. We probably would have never found you."

A cold wind blew through the cave. The trees outside shook and rattled. He saw her shiver. He looked around and found the pile of wood that he had saved for fires. He placed a few logs on the ground and set them on fire. He could see the look of gratitude on her face.

Zuko sat down next to the fire. She sat down a foot away from him and continued to shiver. He felt quite comfortable, but with just her dress on, she was very cold. The cave just trapped the chilled air and kept it all inside.

"Why are you shivering? It isn't that cold in here," he said jokingly.

She glared at him. "N-Not all of us have our own p-personal heating s-systems."

He grinned at her. "It sure does come in handy."

"L-Lucky you," she wrapped her arms around her knees.

Thunder roared outside and the sound of rain came through the trees. She sat huddled up in a big ball. _The sky was clear earlier. How long have we been in here?_ Katara stared into the fire wishing she could be right in the middle of it.

"How do you grow up in the South Pole and start shivering at a tiny draft?" he asked curiously.

She glared at him. "Every t-time I was outside I was c-covered from head to toe in furs. Even inside, where it was a l-lot warmer, we wore some of our f-furs. I got used to s-staying warm inside of g-giant furs."

"That makes sense. I guess…"

"You d-don't understand until you've lived there f-for all of your life."

He watched her staring into the flames. The firelight dancing in her eyes made them even brighter than they already were. He could see a distant look on her face.

"Do you miss the South Pole?" Zuko asked.

She raised her gaze. "It was my home. I miss it sometimes. What about you? Do you miss your home?"

He thought for a moment. "No. There is nothing but hatred for me there. I don't miss it at all."

She continued to shiver. He couldn't stand her discomfort anymore.

"Come here."

She looked at him strangely. "What?"

"I said come here. You're freezing."

She continued to look at him curiously. _Is he actually being nice?_ She slowly closed the gap between them. Katara sat right beside him without actually touching him. It was a little warmer closer to the firebender, but she continued to shiver.

"You're still shivering. I'm not going to hurt you," he said seriously.

She glanced at him sideways for a moment before sliding over so her side touched his. She immediately felt warmth run through her skin. She moved even closer to him and basked in the warmth radiating off of his body.

He could still feel her shivering slightly, so he increased his temperature. He could feel her relax against him. Zuko slowly put his arm around her. She didn't seem to care.

"Is that better?" he asked.

"Mhmm," was his only response.

He pulled her closer. She rested her head against his chest.

The rain outside continued to come down. Thunder rang through the cave.

"Looks like we'll be here a while," he said, mostly to himself.

She mumbled something along the lines of "good," and curled up against him. Zuko leaned back against the wall of the cave and closed his eyes. He felt her move and then next thing he knew, she was in his lap. His eyes snapped open. Her head was nestled between his chest and his neck. Her cold hands were pressed against his stomach.

_What am I doing?_ She closed her eyes and let his warmth penetrate her skin. He was looking at her funny, but she didn't care. Katara sighed and let herself relax. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_She looks so peaceful when she is sleeping._ Zuko wrapped his warm arms around her and closed his own eyes.

After what felt like hours, he felt her squirming. He opened his eyes. She was awake and trying to stand up. He released her from his arms. She stood and walked to the entrance of the cave. He stretched and stood also. The fire was dying down, so he took another log from the pile by his wrecked war balloon and added it to the flames. The fire flared up and then settled again.

Rain still poured down outside.

"When do you think the rain will stop?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I hope it lets up soon."

"I wonder if the others are looking for us," she muttered.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure they would have noticed that we weren't there by now."

She nodded in agreement and sat down by the fire.

_We can't travel in that rain. I really hope the others are safe inside the Temple._ Katara stared into the depths of the fire again.

Her stomach growled loudly and her face flushed. He looked at her for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"It's not funny!" she yelled at him.

He struggled to calm himself down. He cleared his throat. "No, no it's not."

As he spoke, her stomach complained again. He snorted and started laughing again. She frowned at him and turned away.

After he stopped laughing he asked her another question. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Last night at supper. It wasn't very much," Katara mumbled her response.

He looked at her slender back. _Does she give up food to the rest of us?_ Her thin figure suddenly showed signed of malnutrition.

"You didn't eat this morning?" Zuko inquired.

"No. Our supplies are running low and we don't have enough money to go to a market. I had to feed everyone else first."

"So you're putting aside your own health for the sake of everyone else? Do you know what would happen if you got ill or even died?" Zuko shuddered at the thought of never seeing her smile again.

"But Aang is more important than me at the moment! If he isn't strong enough to win that battle when the comet comes then it might as well be the end of the world!" she protested.

"If something happened to you, we wouldn't be able to survive. You keep us alive and you care for us. Without you there, we would just fall apart."

She turned around sharply. "Sokka knows how to take care of himself and others around him. He managed to do that multiple times back home. Toph can survive by herself. You wouldn't fall apart. All of you would work together, like you already do."

"I'm not saying that we wouldn't be able to survive physically. I have no doubt in my mind that we could do that, but we wouldn't be able to survive emotionally!" Zuko almost yelled the last word at her. "We would be so upset and heartbroken that you were gone that we wouldn't be able to carry on. Aang would probably go into the Avatar State and hurt himself, Sokka would go mad with grief that he wasn't able to keep his sister alive, and Toph would probably build herself a rock cave and never come out of it."

She hesitated a moment before she spoke. "What about you? What would you do?"

He sighed. "I…I don't know what I would do."

_He's right. I need to take better care of myself._ When he gave his answer to her question, she walked over to him and sat down right in front of him.

"I know what you would do," Katara said sternly. "You would end this war. You would end all of the suffering and pain. You would help the world rebuild itself. You would hide your emotions and carry on, like you always do."

He looked into her blue eyes with his gold ones. "I don't think so Katara."

"Why not?"

"Because if something happened to you, it would be like losing my mother all over again," he paused. "I love you too much. If something happened to you, it would be like ripping my heart from my chest."

Katara opened her mouth to talk, but closed it again. _He loves me?_ She searched her heart and found an answer.

"I love you too, Zuko."

Her blue eyes, so close to his, sparkled in the firelight. She spoke honestly; he could hear it in her voice. He watched her start to shiver again.

"Katara, you're shivering again," Zuko mumbled.

She moved closer to him and he wrapped her in his arms. He pulled her against his chest and made himself warmer. She stopped shivering and looked up at him with her sea blue eyes.

"Zuko..," she whispered.

"Yes?"

"What happens when we get back to the others?"

"I honestly don't know. But that doesn't matter right now," he said.

She nodded, closed her eyes, and rested her head against his shoulder. He put his hand under her chin and raised her head. She looked at him through her eyelashes. He leaned down and put his lips on hers. Her arms linked around his neck. His hands found their way to her thin hips.

Warmth flooded her senses. She knew that she was kissing him. She knew that she never wanted the kiss to end. When they finally broke apart, both of them gasping for breath, she felt her heart slow down.

Katara smiled up at him. He smiled back at her. She rested her head against his shoulder again.

"You should smile more. It suits you," she said softly.

"Really?"

"Yes. When you smile, your eyes look like pools of liquid gold and your scar seems to disappear for a moment."

She reached up and touched the rough skin around his left eye. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"It doesn't bother you?" he asked.

"Not at all. It used to, but I've gotten used to it. It shows that you're a fighter and you can survive."

He opened his eyes. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

"I used to think that it marked me as a failure, a disappointment to my father."

"Don't you ever dare think that you are a failure," Katara in a strong voice. "Look at all that you have done. You've taught Aang firebending. You've given Sokka someone to challenge. You've made Toph stronger. You've taught me a very important lesson."

Zuko gazed at her for a moment. He absorbed every word. He didn't want this time alone with her to end.

"You've taught me countless lessons, Katara. You've taught me to let go of my anger, that forgiveness can be given, even if at first it doesn't seem like it, and that love is stronger than hate."

She smiled at him again. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again. He kissed the top of her head and joined her in slumber.

He awoke with a start. Being careful not to disturb her, he stood up slowly. He walked to the mouth of the cave and stared into the darkness of the trees. He listened carefully. Silence greeted his ears. The storm was over. He walked back to where she was sleeping and knelt down. He gently shook her shoulder.

"Katara! Wake up! The storm is over. We can go back to the others now," he said into her ear.

She opened her eyes and stretched. "Really?"

Zuko nodded. She stumbled to her feet and walked to the entrance of the cave and listened. Her face light up. He walked over to the fire and put it out with a wave of his hand. The cave was swallowed in darkness. He made a small fire ball in the palm of his hand. He held out his hand to her.

"Shall we?"

She took his hand and let him lead her back through the dark maze of trees. When they emerged on the other side of the trees, a beautiful sunset greeted them.

Katara turned to look back at the trees.

"How long were we in there?" she asked no one in particular.

"By the looks of it, maybe a day and a half," he said, looking up at the sky. As if to agree with his statement, her stomach grumbled. He smiled at her, laughter dancing in his eyes.

"Don't you dare laugh," Katara threatened.

"I'll try not to. Come on. Let's go get you some food."

She smiled and nodded. They reached the hilltop where he had asked her to close her eyes. She looked down at the still pond and sighed. He glanced back at her. She tore her gaze away from the pond and smiled halfheartedly at him. They continued walking and within moments they reached the Air Temple.

"There it is!" she pointed to the upside-down structures that made up the Temple. They hurried up the staircase and stepped into the courtyard.

If looks could kill, he would have been a pile of dust on the floor. Her brother glared at him. His look seemed to say, "What are you doing with my baby sister and where have you been?" She ran up to her brother and wrapped her arms around him. He continued to glare at Zuko over her shoulder. After she hugged everyone, she sat down next to the small fire with a bowl of food from a steaming pot and started to devour it. Zuko also grabbed some food, but he stood back against a pillar.

Aang, being the curious little monk that he was, was the first to ask the question that Zuko was dreading. "Where have you guys been?"

Zuko remained silent as he slowly ate his food.

Katara, taking the silent hint that he wasn't going to speak, swallowed her mouthful of food and started talking.

"I needed some help collecting herbs, so Zuko came with me. While we where gathering herbs, a storm started and we had to find some shelter. We were too far away from the Air Temple and it was thundering and lightning, so we stayed in a cave until the storm blew over."

"So where are the herbs that you collected?" Sokka asked.

"Umm…We dropped them when we ran for shelter," Katara quickly lied. Sokka considered her answer for a moment and went with it.

**AN: Please review!**


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